


Rain

by CJ_Ackerman17



Series: shit i write when im on my feelings about snk/aot [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, erwin is a teddy bear, levi is scared of thunderstorms, wow i love erwin and levi together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29141175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_Ackerman17/pseuds/CJ_Ackerman17
Summary: It's been awhile since it's rained during an expedition and Levi tries to ignore it and command his squad, but he gets overwhelmed and finds comfort in his lovers arms.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Series: shit i write when im on my feelings about snk/aot [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091561
Comments: 13
Kudos: 134





	Rain

**Author's Note:**

> just reread no regrets and im emotional so here you go

  
  


“Captain, there’s dark clouds!”

“We can’t risk losing everyone, we gotta stay together, and Eren is exhausted. We cannot go through this storm. Relay the message to Commander Erwin, now, Connie!”

“Yes, sir!”

It was supposed to be an average expedition to retrieve more resources and scout more land to document like every other one. They were in the long distance scouting for mation Erwin created years ago when Levi was just a mere cadet. Back when he joined alongside Isabel and Furlan, and when he tried to kill Erwin. And surprisingly, even after that, the blonde had the nerve to appoint him captain and morph him into humanity's strongest. 

_ Tch,  _ the raven thought to himself as he stared at the dark mass of clouds. At the corner of his eye he watched Connie kick his horse and dart forward up to where commander Erwin was in the formation. While Erwin was towards the very center of the front of the formation, Levi’s special operation squad was placed towards the back center where they were most protected. 

Taking a glance behind him after ordering them to put their hoods up, he gazed at Eren. The kid looked like he was about to slump over on his horse as they rode, and he wasn’t surprised. Hange’s experiments have been wearing the kid out to the point where he would pass out. Levi would always order Mikasa and Armin to take him back to HQ and let him rest. 

Speaking of those two, they rode next to Eren and kept a careful eye on him. He could see Armin glancing at him frequently and threatening to take the reins of Erens horse, Tank, and Mikasa rode along silently, keeping an eye out for oncoming titans. 

He accidentally caught her eye and they both stared at each other, a knowing look in their eyes. Both Ackermans were smarter than everyone thought. Not only did they have exceptional skill because of their bloodline, but they had brains. They weren’t soldiers who submitted at every order of authority, they shared the same knowledge. The only difference? Levi was more experienced than she was. And even though they butted heads, they shared a mutual agreement when it came to Eren. 

Keep the kid safe. 

He gave her a small nod and she shared a grim look as she looked up at the clouds, and that was when Levi looked over at Jean. “Fire a signal flare, we gotta catch the outer ranks' attention before it gets worse. Connie should be smart enough to get to Commander Erwin in time, but we have to make sure everyone else is safe before Erwin calls this off.”

“How are you sure Erwin will call this off?” Jean asked him as he took his flare out, “He hasn’t backed out of a mission since the 57th expedition a while ago back.”

Yes, Levi remembers that expedition well. He lost his entire squad that day. Just to keep Eren safe. That was his purpose, and he believed in the kid. 

But Levi knew Commander Erwin the best, he knew the blonde better than anyone. He’s Erwins captain, he’s Erwin’s boy, he’s Erwin’s partner. Erwin loved him, and he loved Erwin equally as much. They’ve been together for almost four years now, and the only people who knew about it were the scouts. It was a mutual agreement between the entire legion : if you expose the captain and commanders relationship, the captain will have your fucking head.

“Do you not trust my intention, cadet?” Levi peered over at the horse face, “are you questioning how much I know my superior?”

Sasha snickered, “is he only your superior, captain?”

“Oi, shut up.” Levi rolled his eyes. His squad of these teenagers knew him the best as they were together every day. They fought together, had each other back. Levi knew just as much about them as they knew about him. And they always teased him when he would leave them to go have dinner with Erwin in the hall. He would shoot them a look that said  _ shut the fuck up.  _

He looked ahead though at those clouds and gulped nervously when a drop of rain fell on his forehead, and all he desired was to be in the arms of his partner.

He  _ hated  _ the rain.

They  _ died  _ in the rain. 

He hopes Erwin would find them shelter because no matter how strong of authority Levi is, there are moments where he breaks and he can feel himself drop into a dark abyss. 

But something caught Levi’s attention. He saw it move and his mouth gaped as he looked between the moving figure and the oncoming storm, and he gritted his teeth, pulling out his swords. “Draw your weapons!”

“Sir?” Eren asked, finally coming back to his senses. He felt weak, and Mikasa looked around until she spotted what Levi did, drawing her weapons along with everyone else nearby.

“Fire a purple signal flare! Abnormal to our right!” Levi ordered and Jean obeyed, shooting into the air. “Keep attention, don’t strike yet! The thunder may distract it, but keep on your toes! The main objective is to protect Eren!”

“We’ll take care of it, captain! You stay with Eren!” Another squad leader yelled, ordering his team to take it out.

What they didn’t see was another one hiding. And then another. And then another. 

“Shit!”

  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  


Erwin saw the clouds slowly approach the further that they rode out during their current expedition. The side flank just encountered titans and so did part of the rear, but the center and front and left side remained untouched. He didn’t worry much about those the captain was around, but what he did worry about was the approaching thunderstorm. 

“Erwin, that doesn’t look good,” Mike commented with a frown on his face.

Yes, he realized that. There was no way they could continue on. The last time they were on an expedition all those years ago when there was a thunderstorm, the fog had been so dense that they couldn’t see anything. That was the first time he had ever felt like he wouldn’t make it back to the walls. 

He remembers then, that a lot of people didn’t make it back. One squad was entirely wiped out and it was Flagons, and the only survivor was now his partner as a relationship standpoint and a partner in crime. 

With another look at the dark clouds, Erwin cursed to himself. They were too far away from the wall to go back now, they wouldn’t beat this storm. They also couldn’t continue their past, he couldn’t command them fast enough to scatter and find a meeting ground. That would be a stupid idea anyway. 

He was lost in his own thoughts until he heard Connie’s voice behind him, “Commander, I have a message from the captain!”

Erwin frowned,  _ why would Levi send his squad member all the way up here? And more importantly, how hard did Connie push his horse to get up here so fast?  _

“What is the message, Connie?”

“Eren is exhausted, sir, there is no way he can transform if we run into titans in this oncoming storm. Levi is suggesting we find shelter and wait it out.” The cadet said, putting his hood over his head as he tried to look through the now sprinkling rain. 

There was a cold breeze and Mike looked at Erwin with a knowing look in his eyes as he sniffed the air and spoke, “Erwin, this storm looks exactly like the one we encountered all those years ago. I don’t see fog, but if there is titan steam, we will lose the formation and most won’t make it back, no matter how strong they are.”

“Your opinion is noted,” Erwin said and he looked forward again, a hard look on his face. “We have to stop moving forward,” he looked to his side, “Hange! Where is the nearest castle. There should be one near here, yes?”

Hange held the map, “should be to the right, commander! We should make it before the storm sets in!”

In the back of Erwins mind he worried for Levi- the raven always was more on edge when it came to rain. Yet.. there hadn’t been a bad thunderstorm since that night. And he does not want to think about that night. 

He can’t dwell on Levi’s feelings right now no matter how worried his captain may be. Levi never sends someone from his squad to relay a message straight to him, so hearing Levi suggest they should fallback was certainly a surprise. No matter, he would have to make the decision to do so. There was no way they could fight titans in this. 

The sky grew darker and the rain was coming down now, and as Erwin put his hood up he looked behind him at the squad behind him. “Fire a flare! We’re seeking shelter, send messages and make sure to get across the entire regiment. Fall close together, we have to divert ourselves from the storm before we lose even more scouts on this expedition! Now!”

Everyone who was addressed broke apart and before Connie could question if he could go back to his squad, there were four signal flares shot from behind him. He panicked and looked back and gasped when they saw it all came from the back side of the formation. “Shit, commander, the back quadrant was hit by abnormals and judging by how many flares there’s a lot! Should I retreat back?!”

Ignoring his racing heart and his desire to make sure Levi was alright, he let out a grunt in frustration. They can’t have abornals on their asses, not right now, this was terrible timing and two huge miscalculations at one time. He had to protect his legion, no matter what the cost.

And that cost? He had to believe that Levi knew the protocols and was commanding all the way back there, taking care of the titans. He trusted Levi more than anyone on this field, and he could not spend his time worrying about one person when there were almost two hundred men and women trusting him to protect them to the best of his ability. 

“Stay up here, Connie, it’s no use, you won’t make it in time.” Erwin commanded and didn’t bother looking back at the scene. “They know what to do back there, don’t worry about them. I need you to stay up here and help lead those of us who are close to the castle.”

“But commander-”

“Listen to your commander, Connie!” Hange shouted, holding out her arm to cover her glasses so she can attempt to see over the rain.

“Are you kidding?! Eren is back there and-”

Erwins voice boomed over the sudden thunder, and lightning came afterwards. “I understand you’re worried about your comrades but the fog is setting in. Levi was put in charge of Eren for a reason. He was made captain for a reason. And every squad leader back there was trained for unexpected miscalculations. Stay here.” He had confidence in every one of them, and he had confidence that Levi could keep himself in control. His worst fear was thunderstorms, and Erwin hated it, but he couldn’t check up on his partner right now. 

Connie sighed in frustration, took one glance towards the back and saw abnormals getting slaughtered one by one, and he looked forward again at the back of commander Erwin's head. “Yes sir, I’ll help.”

“Good, continue on. I can see the castle, it’s up ahead.”

  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Armin, don’t leave Erens side! Mikasa and Jean- take out those abnormals!” Levi ordered, holding his hood over his face to try and keep his face somewhat dry. 

His hand was shaking. 

He ignored it. 

Jean and Mikasa obeyed in an instant, choosing not to disrupt orders. They never did once they were outside the walls. The two of them were the most skilled of the team when it came to the maneuver gear, he trusted them to make it back the moment they lifted off their horses and flew into battle with their comrades.

Levi slowed down his horse so he was closer to Sasha, Eren, and Armin. “Connie should have reached commander Erwin by now, which means we should be falling back any moment when Hange maps out a castle or something to keep us covered. Just stand tight, we stay here and keep Eren out of immediate danger, Sasha make sure you keep watch of Jean and Mikasa’s horses.”

“Will do, sir! Already on it!” The brunette smiled, reaching over and holding the reins of two more horses and holding her horses reins with her elbow. How she did that, Levi didn’t know, but he admired her skill more and more every day. 

Eren was slumped on his horse, the marks on his eyes were a deep bread and he looked exhausted. “Captain, I don’t feel good.”

“It’s fine, don’t shit yourself.” He stared forward as they rode through the rain, his eyes caught the sight of a signal flare and he inwardly jumped with joy. Erwin listened to him. They were falling back. Thank God.

“Captain Levi, you’re shaking,” Armin observed as he looked past Eren and over to the stoic man, he’s never seen him shake or show any fear, but Armin could read everyone. He saw the sliver of fear in Levi’s eyes, his hands tremble, and the biting of his bottom lip and how on edge he was once the thunderstorm presented itself. “I suggest leaving the titans to the others.”

Levi cursed, it looks like the kid was smarter than he thought. He took a deep breath and ignored the image of watching Furlan and Isabel die because he didn’t get there fast enough. Because he made the wrong choice. Because his pride got in the way. He did that, he killed them. Maybe that's why he was so focused on keeping Eren alive, because the titan shifter reminded him so much of innocent little Isabel. 

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, Armin.” He said and glanced at the blonde, “Focus on keeping Eren safe. That’s a fucking order. You’re not my babysitter.”

“Right…”

Levi almost spoke once more until he heard a scream and his head turned so fast he almost got whiplash, “shit! Jean!”

The kid was practically being spoon fed into a titan because his gear was on the verge of malfunctioning, and his face showed nothing but fear as he tried to get out of the way. It was the rain and the fog, the gear was made for keeping an eye on and if you couldn’t see, it was dangerous to have the gear on you.

Jean lost one of his swords and Levi glanced around to see if anyone was near him and he cursed, there was no one. Mikasa was preoccupied taking care of another titan that had managed to grab another cadet and while Levi knew she had this in the bag, she wouldn’t be able to get to him on time. 

He couldn’t let someone die again because he didn’t get to them on time. 

Levi sneered and drew his weapon once more, “Armin, watch my horse. I’m exterminating the titans behind us, if you lose me then I need you to lead this squad to safety. Do you understand me?”

He knew Armin wanted to speak out, but the blonde couldn’t deny his skill. Having two Ackermans on the field was better than any other cadet.

“Understood.”

Levi nodded and stood on top of his stallion with exceptional balance before launching his gear, and flying through the air towards the titan that was about to eat his idea of a cadet that would make a great captain one day. 

His heart was hammering in his chest as he sped through the air, his hood fell back and the rain pelted his face. He had to hurry. If lightning strikes and hits the metal on someone's gear it's over, it'll be too much. This mission was useless.

His launcher caught onto the back of the titans neck and he twisted his blades in his hands, holding them backwards and letting out a deep grunt as he spun fast, slicing the flesh of the titans neck right before it shoved Jean into his mouth. 

Recovering from the sight wave of dizziness, he flew down quickly and grabbed Jean by the waist and held him tight, cringing at the amount of titan slobber that was coated on his body. “You alright?” Levi asked, “can you use your gear?”

“I’m fine, thanks captain.” Levi landed at a nearby tree and dismounted onto a branch, putting Jean down and cursing once again when he saw the amount of titans that awaited them. “Get your shit together. Mikasa is out slaughtering them left and right and I’m joining her. There is no plan here, kill every titan and fight to your death. If you get the chance- get back into the formation.”

“This looks bad, captain” Jean looked around warily, “Are we going to make this?”

“We have too.” Levi replaced his swords and glared, “now, let’s go!”

  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  


“Commander! They’re getting trashed back there! There are too many titans!” Connie shouted.

“We’re nearing the castle, they know what to do and are willing to die for the cause.” Erwin replied calmly, although his heart was hammering within his chest and he was on the verge of going back and retrieving Levi himself. 

He turned to Mike, “we can handle it up here, the castle is up ahead, you go back and help out the rear.”

Mike turned up his nose,  _ make sure Levi gets back  _ is what was left unsaid. He nodded and turned his horse around, darting back to where the Levi squad was. 

Erwin growled,  _ please be okay, Levi.  _

  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  


“Captain, watch out!”

Levi almost didn’t dodge in time, he did a backflip and ended up onto a branch and he felt a sting of pain up his left ankle. He grunted and leaned forward, huffing out a breath until he looked forward, blinking through all the titan blood that was sticking to his face.

Disgusting. 

He barely heard the shout over the thunder, and in the fog it was a lot harder to see. Levi had taken down four of the six titans and assisted with the other two with Mikasa and Jean. He had ordered every other cadet to get back on their horse and protect his squad and follow Erwin to their destination. The only ones taking down the titans were Levi, Mikasa, and Jean. Only because Levi trusted their abilities more than anyone else.

But the thunder was booming so loud, the lightning was too bright, the fog was so thick and the rain was coming down so hard it hurt when it landed in their eyes. Levi was out of breath, soloing the majority of those titans doesn't look hard but it is. He’s tired, he’s exhausted, and he could only hope that everyone else made it to the castle safety. 

He could feel his inner panic setting in and he tried his best to ignore it, but he was fucking human. He put a hand to his chest as he felt his lungs titan and he came down, dropping his blades. The fog was so thick that he could only see them drop five feet. The ground was unseeable, so was everything only mere feet in front of him. 

“Captain!”

But he didn’t move, he held onto the branch he was trapped on and he tried to calm his breaths. It was too much. Storms were loud. Chaotic. Dirty. Wet. He only thought of deaths. He only thought of seeing Isabel's body get chewed up and her head falling to the ground. He saw Furlans face as he gave him a solemn look before he gave up and willingly got eaten by a titan when he realized he had no other choice. 

_ Furlan, Izzy..  _ He thought to himself,  _ I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so- _

“Captain Levi!”

Jean's voice dug through his panicked breaths and he grunted as he lifted his head, “captain, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

He didn’t take his hand away from his chest, he could feel his heart beating fast. “Where’s Mikasa? Is she alright?”

“I think she rounded back with Eren, I haven’t seen her but she’s smart,” Jean knelt down to where Levi was squatted down, “I can still see the rear of the formation and I heard them say something about shelter, we gotta go before we get left behind, captain. Can you stand? I saw you get your bad ankle.”

Levi stood up on his own and tried to mask his panic as he looked around, it was almost pitch black out but he could also see the rear of the formation as well. “I’m fine,” his voice was scratchy and he could taste the blood on his face. He replenished his gear and looked at Jean, keeping weight off of his bad foot. “Come on, let’s go, you idiot, you should have stayed with them.”

_ Thank you for coming to get me. _

Jean only laughed after he took off behind Levi with their gear, “Yeah yeah, whatever captain.”

  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  


“Erwin don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine.” 

“The only ones that aren’t accounted for are Levi and Jean, Mikasa said she lost them in the fog and the rear guard couldn’t see much from where they were when the form tightened.”

They got everyone to safety at a shelter and did a head count, and once Erwin heard that Mike couldn’t even get through the fog without risking his life he internally panicked. 

What if Levi died?

What if Jean died?

How could he let this happen?

He couldn’t lose Levi.

He couldn’t imagine his captains last memories being terrified by a storm and allowing his subordinate to die. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get to them, Erwin,” Mike spoke, it was the first time Erwin heard guilt in his voice.

“It’s fine,” Erwin took a shaky breath, “go brief everyone that we will be staying here for the time being until the fog clears up.”

Mike watched Erwin put his jacket on, “what are you doing?”

Erwin replenished his blades, “I’m on first watch.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jean witnessed Levi struggle to fly with his maneuver gear as they booked on tree by tree to keep up with the formation. He had heard rumors that Levi’s eyesight was better than normal when it came to seeing in the dark and he was currently confirming that it was true. But Levi wasn’t struggling to see, no, he was struggling to breath.

He saw Levi stagger as he hooked onto another tree and as he glanced back to make sure Jean was with him. He saw the captain almost dislodge too late, and he watched as Levi sped up so fast he could have lost his balance. 

He’s never seen the captain like this. He’s never seen Levi look so tired. He’s never seen Levi hurt, actually. When he saw Levi backflip just in time after he processed there was a titan about to eat him, Jean knew something was up. And something had been up since the thunderstorm started. 

“Up ahead!” Levi shouted, “come on, the shelter is here, let’s walk from now.”

“Yes sir.”

  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  
  


Once Levi ordered Jean to walk through the door first so he could sneak back inside to find Erwin, he shut the door and watch Jean reunite in a group hug with Sasha and Connie, the two of them asking if he was alright. Mikasa even was concerned, and she looked back but all she saw was Levi rush out of the main room, past Mike and Hange and to where she can only assume where Erwin was. 

Levi didn’t ask where Erwin was, he didn’t have the mind to ask. His voice and body was numb. His ankle hurt and he knew his limp was prominent, but no one questioned Levi. No one offered him help, and he made sure they didn’t. He was his own person, he had people to look after. 

But right now was different, he could feel himself panicking and he wanted to get to Erwin as fast as he could. This was something he couldn’t handle alone. Everytime he thought of his old friends he got like this, but he hasn’t been in a storm since then and he hated to admit it but he was utterly terrified. 

It was too loud. He wanted to cover his ears and be wrapped in Erwins safe arms when the ground would vibrate from the thunder. He wanted to be in silence. He wanted to scream, to try, to be grounded and told that everything was okay. 

He looked around the halls and held back a choked sob as his lungs tightened. “Erwin?” His voice was shaky and it echoed. “Erwin?”

Nothing, and Levi finally let the tears fall down his cheeks. There was no covering it now, he was dropping fast and there was nothing he could do about it. 

But then he heard footsteps come down the stairs and that warm, velvety voice spoke that calmed him. “Levi?”

“Erwin?!”

  
  
  
  
  
  


_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Once he heard his name being called he knew who it was. He took his gear off and dropped it, forgetting all about how he could have probably damaged it. He knew it was Levi, no one flat out called him Erwin besides Mike and Hange. And that voice sounded nothing like Mike and Hange. 

He jobbed down the stairs and when he called out Levi’s name, he heard Levi call his name back and he sounded afraid. Erwin got to the bottom of the stairs and he saw his captain leaning against the wall with one hand, titan blood in the process of evaporating, holding his ankle over the ground.

But what got him was the terrified look and the tears on Levi’s face, and his free hand was touching his chest. 

Oh.

Oh no. 

So Levi was freaking out over the storm. 

Fuck. 

Erwin quickly walked up to him and he was about to ask if his partner was okay but the smaller man ignored his pride and invited himself into Erwins arms, pressing all of his weight against him and that was when Erwin felt how much Levi was actually shaking. He shook, he was terrified, and when he felt Levi clench his shirt he knew they had to get somewhere private.

“Come on, love,” he whispered as he kissed the crown of Levi’s head, rubbing Levi’s back and hating the fact that Levi was about to be on the verge of hyperventilating. “There is a room down the hall, we can have privacy, you need to come down, can you walk?”

Levi only gripped him tighter, well, as much as he could with his shaking hands. 

That was the answer that Erwin needed. 

He went ahead and leaned down, “I’m going to pick you up, is that okay?”

“Yes,  _ please _ .”

That was something. Levi never said please.

It only worried him more. 

Erwin picked him up with a grunt, Levi wasn’t exactly light but he wasn’t heavy. He was surprised when Levi leaned all of his weight on him. The raven tucked his face into Erwins neck and wrapped his arms around his neck, he couldn’t move his one leg and Erwin knew it had to be hurting like it used to be back then. 

He walked down the hall, choosing not to go up the stairs and walked into a room nearby. When he walked into the room he closed the door with his foot and then when he went to put Levi down on the ground once more, the raven started the fuck out of him. 

There was a loud boom of thunder and as he was being set down, Levi finally let out a terrified choked cry and held onto him only tighter, shaking his head no, which was so out of character for the captain. 

“Okay, I won’t put you down, don’t worry.” Erwin shushed him and walked backwards until the back of his knees hit the bed. “We’ll look at your ankle later, Levi. I’m going to sit down on the bed, alright? I won’t let go of you.”

He knew Levi’s mind was fogging over and mentally he was trying to find a way out from the awful vivid images in his head. He sniffled and just kept crying, not giving him a real answer. He was terrified. Utterly terrified. 

Erwin moved swiftly and with some resistance from the smaller man, he sat down on the edge of the bed and prompted Levi to sit on his lap. With one arm on Levi’s back he outstretched Levi’s left leg so it was resting on the bed. He wasn’t worried about hurting the younger man, Levi had proven time and time again that he was more flexible than predicted when you first met him. 

He held Levi sightly, swaying side to side like he had seen so many parents do to their children before. “It’s alright, I know, I know, It’s okay.”

Levi didn’t hold back anymore, he let the tears fall and let himself shake, staying on the verge of losing his breath. He lost all shame. He needed to be held. He needed reassurance. 

And when another boom of thunder sounded Levi only cried louder. Erwin’s heart broke, he wished they had something to cover Levi’s ears or his eyes, but the closest thing they had was his own hands. 

Wrong, Levi was still wearing his cape. Erwin let Levi fall against him and he unfastened his cape, and Levi let him do it. He didn’t care. He trusted Erwin. “Levi, come on, you need to breathe. It’s okay, the storm can’t hurt you. It’s going to pass.”

“I killed them,” he whimpered into Erwins shoulder as he felt Erwins warm hands take off the cape around his neck. “I did it, I-I killed-”

“No you didn’t. The titans did. You couldn’t have seen that coming.”

Levi went to protest again but then his cape was wrapped around the back of his head, and was pressed against his ears. He peeked up at Erwin and got the memo to use his own hands to hold the cape over both of his ears. Once he did he was met with a dull silence. The cape was still wet, which meant it was heavier. 

“There we go,” Erwin knew Levi couldn’t hear him, but he could read lips. The raven was still crying, lip wobbling and tears falling from his eyes, his chest rising and falling quickly, but the panicked look in his eyes started to go away.

“Okay, now come here..” Erwin whispered and brought Levi back in close, putting one hand on the cape that was on the back of the smaller man's head and the other on his lower back. He wanted to check on Levi’s foot but that would have to wait. 

Levi didn’t know how long he sat there on Erwins lap, hands over the cape on his ears, but it was long enough for him to regulate his breathing. His tears haven’t stopped, he didn’t expect them to.

Sometime later Erwin tried to remove Levi’s hands from the cape to drop it but Levi let out a noise of protest, but right now Erwin was the stronger between the two. He followed along and dropped the cape, hearing the wet cloth hit the floor. He sniffled and clung onto Erwin, resting his head on the older man's shoulder again, not feeling the ache in his left leg as it continued to rest on the bed behind Erwins back.

He felt Erwin rub his back, “there’s no more thunder, there hasn’t been for a couple minutes.” Erwin sat back and softly cupped Levi’s chin, making his captain meet his eyes. “Your breathing sounds better, how are your ears? Are they ringing?” Levi shook his head no. “That’s good. Do you want to speak?” Levi shook his head no again. “That’s fine, how far gone are you? Far?” The raven blushed and reached a hand up, rubbing at his eyes. “That’s alright Levi, you’re allowed to be upset, it’s fine.”

It only brought more tears to Levi’s eyes and they easily spilled over, only caught by Erwin’s thumb. “I know how you’re thinking, and don’t. Stop it right now.”

Levi took his face away from Erwins hand to escape his gaze but Erwin gripped his chin just a tad tighter, making Levi look up at him again. “Levi, you’re alright, you’re safe here. Look at me, would I trust you to take care of those titans back there if I didn’t think you were capable?”

The raven's eyes seemed to drop then. 

He was exhausted. 

_ Good,  _ Erwin thought, _ it’s what he needs.  _

“You need to sleep,” Erwin said, “come on, let’s lay you down. Is your ankle bad or you think it sprained like last time?”

Levi shook his head and sniffled and Erwin understood once those silver eyes landed on the bed. 

His boy wanted to sleep the stress off. 

And Erwin helped tuck him in, running his hand through his hair until Levi had finally fallen asleep on his side facing Erwin. Once he did Erwin got the chance to bandage his ankle he sat on the bed and stroked Levi’s cheek, frowning at the tear streaks. 

He didn’t get the chance to think much because there was a knock on the door, “come in.”

The door opened to reveal Jean, Mikasa, Armin, and Eren. Erwin didn’t mind them coming in, they were some of the few he legitimately trusted to see Levi at his most vulnerable, which was not very often. “What is it that you need?”

“I just wanted to make sure he was okay, he wasn’t acting right back there when we made our way back..” Jean scratched the back of his head, the rest of them not knowing how to handle seeing their captain asleep with Erwins hand in his hair. What they really weren't used too was the tear stains on his cheeks. 

“He’s fine, thank you for your concern. Would you mind fetching him a case of water?” Erwin responded.

Eren just nodded, “yes sir, we’ll leave you to it. Tell him I said thank you for risking his life- he told me about Isabel and Furlan.”

Erwin raised a brow, “he did? Odd.”

“He told me when his squad died, we spent a lot of time together after that,” Eren smiled softly, “I’ll get you that water, yeah?”

“Thank you.”

The door was shut, leaving Erwin alone in his thoughts. 

He kissed Levi’s forehead.

Everything would be fine. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> no regrets makes me so emotional lol i cried while writing this but no surprise im emotional


End file.
